Still Only Eleven
by Saiyan Princess
Summary: When Gene is injured in battle, Jim becomes very upset and paranoid for unknown reasons. Suddenly, Gene must be the responsible, mature half of Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. After all, Jim may be gifted, but he's still only eleven.


Still Only Eleven  
Saiyan Princess  
  
  
Gene wearily lifted his head. Jim was curled beside him, unconscious but unhurt. Looking down at his bloody left leg, Gene realized he wouldn't be able to walk without some sort of assistance. The flesh of his right arm was badly torn in several places, and his ribs were cracked. At least the terrorist Vulneraba was dead. Starwind and Hawking Enterprises had earned a good amount of money. Gingerly, the wounded redhead sat up. It was important that he get himself and Jim back to the ship as soon as possible. The desert-like planet was currently burning, but when night fell the temperature would drop dangerously low. Gene glanced around, looking for something useful. In the rubble of the explosion, he spotted a three-foot long metal pipe. It was straight up to the last five inches, where it formed a right angle, making it an ideal cane. Gene scooted towards it, retrieved it, and returned to where Jim lay.  
"Come on, partner. Time to wake up," he urged.  
Jim didn't stir; he was feverish.  
"Damn heat," Gene muttered.  
In order to walk he needed to use the pipe-cane with his left arm. His right arm couldn't be moved, let alone carry a small boy, so Gene unceremoniously slung Jim over his right shoulder, wincing as weight was applied to the injured joint. He picked up the cane, and slowly began his long limp home.  
  
  
About an hour into the journey, Jim began to whimper.  
"Aniki...stop it...let's surrender...aniki..."  
"Jim? Are you awake?"  
"Aniki?" Jim moaned.  
He was confused. When he looked up he saw only ground. He was flopped over something that was moving very jarringly and slowly.  
"Hey Jim, I'm right here."  
Jim realized he was on his partner's shoulder and turned a little to face him.  
"'Morning, sunshine. We're rich."  
"Gene! How can you think of money? We almost got killed!"  
"You're the one who's always complaining about our money problem. I just killed Vulneraba. We're loaded now."  
"But you almost got us killed! I don't know what you did after I was knocked unconscious, but judging from how things were going, your victory must have been pure luck!"  
"The point is that I won, and now we can collect the reward money once we get back to the city," said Gene, irritated.  
"The city! How far away are we?" asked Jim, suddenly more worried than ever.  
"I don't know. It will take us a few more hours. Don't get so upset."  
"In this heat? How badly are you injured? Can you make...your arm! And your leg, it's still bleeding! There's a whole trail of blood!" Jim cried, his voice starting to crack. "You'll never make it back to the ship. Let me down, you can't carry me like this."  
Jim, however, was dehydrated and too weak to stand. He collapsed to the burning sand, nauseated.  
"Jim, I can carry you easily. You hardly weigh a thing."  
"It hurts my stomach when I lay over your shoulder. And it must hurt your shoulder, too," Jim reasoned. He pointed to where his shirt was soaked with blood from Gene's arm. "This was the stupidest job ever. I told you it was too dangerous!"  
"Everything will be fine, Jim," sighed Gene, exasperated. "Can't you just be happy that we finally made some money? You can sit on my shoulders piggy-back style. Would that be more comfortable for you?"  
Nodding, Jim struggled up onto his friend's shoulders. Gene started forward again, moving faster this time to encourage his young partner.  
  
  
"How badly are you injured?" Jim repeated after a few minutes.  
"Nothing is serious. I'll just have a few more scars, that's all," Gene said nonchalantly.  
"Are you sure? Your leg looks pretty mangled."  
"I'm sure we'll be able to take care of it at the ship. You should be resting. You're still feverish."  
Jim was soon asleep, slumped over Gene's head. Gene could feel himself slowing down. He needed water badly, and had lost a lot of blood. Maybe he should have listened to Jim. What if he died? Jim would still be too weak to walk. Without Gene to carry him, what would happen to him?  
"I'm being stupid," Gene muttered. "Of course we'll make it to the ship. All I have to do is keep walking."  
  
  
Evening came, and the weather rapidly changed from arid to chilly. Jim woke up again.  
"It's cold. Gene, why aren't we there yet? Are you sure you're going the right direction?"  
"Of course I am. And it's a good thing that you're cold. It might mean that your fever has broken."  
"I'm really thirsty."  
Gene almost accused him of being whiny, but held back. He remembered that for all the adventures they had shared, Jim was still only eleven years old. How could he expect a little boy to not be thirsty after nearly an entire day in intense heat without water?  
"I know you are, Jim. I'm going to get us home as quickly as I can. I promise."  
  
  
"There they are!" screeched Aisha.  
She, Suzuka, and Melfina rushed toward the staggering figure in the distance.  
"Gene!" cried the C'tarl C'tarl. "We thought we'd lost you both."  
"Shhh," hushed Gene. "Jim's asleep."  
Melfina took Jim into her arms and lay him down on the sand.  
"Could you please hand me the canteen?"  
She shook Jim a little. The boy half-awoke, and Melfina poured a few drops of water into his mouth. Aisha had been carrying a large suitcase.  
"We have a fold-out stretcher in here, Gene," Suzuka said. "It looks like you had better use it."  
"I'll be all right."  
"Your leg is a mess," Aisha pointed out, unfolding the stretcher. "You obviously can't put any weight on it, and you look horrible."  
"You've over-exerted yourself," Suzuka reasoned. "We'll get a little water in you and then we'll return to the ship."  
Gene surrendered. He took a drink and lay down on the stretcher. Aisha and Suzuka lifted him, and Melfina carried Jim. The young boy was still barely awake. When he saw his friend laying on the stretcher, worry flooded his thoughts. Was Gene more seriously wounded than he had thought? Were his injuries critical? Were they mortal? Jim wanted to cry out and ask, but he was too weak. Darkness clouded his vision and he fell back into unconsciousness.  
  
  
Jim remembered being given some more water, being put into a bed and being tucked in. He drifted off but woke up a few hours later when Aisha and Suzuka brought Gene in and lay him on the bed next to him. The two women spoke in serious voices. Jim could only make out part of one sentence.  
"...we could lose him easily."  
  
  
Jim awoke the next morning still feeling weak and nauseated. He lay quietly resting, and then he remembered Gene and turned over to face his friend. But the bed was empty. Maybe, Jim thought, Gene is much better and is eating breakfast already. It was still difficult for Jim to keep his balance while walking, but he managed to stumble into the dining room.  
"Gene?" he called. "Melfina?"  
No answer. Jim began to get nervous. Remembered hearing someone from the night before say, "...we could lose him easily." It had been Suzuka's voice, hadn't it? Dizziness and panic crept into Jim's body as he wandered from room to room calling for Gene. The ship was empty! Deliriously, Jim began to mumble to himself.  
"He...he died...they took his body away...he's gone...they went to bury him...aniki...Gene! Gene, where are you? Gene! Melfina!"  
"Jim, is that you?" a soft voice called.  
It was Melfina. She had just entered the ship. Jim looked at her with fear in his eyes. She's going to tell me now, Jim realized. She's going to tell me Gene's dead.  
"Jim, I have some bad news. Gene took a turn for the worse early this morning -"  
  
  
Jim awoke several minutes later with a cold wet cloth on his head.  
"Gene!" he yelled, sitting straight up. "Gene!"  
"Jim, Gene's fine," Melfina said, hovering over him.  
"He...he is? He's not...dead?" Jim asked, teary-eyed.  
"Of course not. You poor thing!" cried Melfina, embracing him. "Gene's just fine. He was running a fever early this morning so Aisha and Suzuka took him to a clinic. He's doing wonderfully now."  
Jim, however, only shook his head.  
"No! I don't believe you!"  
"But, Jim, I-"  
"I don't believe you!" he screamed. "Take me to him! Then I'll believe! I want to see Gene!"  
He was crying and shaking and his entire body was convulsing with sobs. Melfina took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to handle the situation. She wrapped Jim in a blanket and carried him towards the hatch of the ship.  
"It's okay, Jim. We're going to see Gene right now."  
"Hurry! Before he dies!" sobbed Jim.  
  
  
Melfina rushed through the city streets with the hysterical eleven-year-old in her arms, ignoring the stares of curious passers-by. Finally, she reached the clinic.  
"I'm sorry, children aren't allowed in the rooms," the receptionist stated.  
"Gene's dead, isn't he?" screamed Jim. "He's dead and you just don't want to tell me!"  
The other patients in the waiting room watched with morbid interest.  
"Gene? Gene Starwind?" a voice asked from across the room.  
Melfina turned with Jim. A doctor had spoken.  
"I treated Gene this morning, young man," the doctor said, addressing Jim. "And I can tell you that he's very much alive, and boisterous."  
"You're a liar," Jim snarled. "They took Gene away last night. He was hurt and he was tired and he was carrying me and he was bleeding."  
The boy's voice was getting softer. He had exhausted himself.  
"He's not usually like this," Melfina tried to explain. "He's normally calm, I don't know why he's so shaken."  
"Usually Gene isn't dead," Jim whispered.  
"Come with me," the doctor said thoughtfully. "We'll make an exception to the 'no children' rule."  
Melfina followed the doctor down the hall, where they passed Aisha.  
"What's wrong with him?" the C'tarl C'tarl asked worriedly.  
"He's concerned about Gene," Melfina replied.  
"Oh. Don't be, Jim. Your friend's fine."  
  
  
Jim had never been so relieved to see his partner.  
"Gene!" he cried, struggling out of Melfina's arms and stumbling towards the bed.  
Gene Starwind was tired and in pain, but smiled cheerfully for Jim.  
"Hey partner, are you okay? I could hear you shouting all the way from the lobby."  
Jim didn't reply, he just hugged Gene's good arm and sobbed against his shoulder. The doctor, Melfina, and Suzuka, who had been keeping watch over the patient, left the room at Gene's gesture. Jim's hysterics puzzled Gene.  
"Jim...everything's okay now. I'm not dead. I'm going to be released this afternoon."  
Jim continued to cry.  
"Jim, you've seen me get injured worse than this before, and I've never seen you react this way. What's really bothering you?"  
"I...I heard Suzuka say that you might die last night."  
"Only if my arm got infected and the infection spread. But that's all been taken care of now."  
"No one was on the ship when I woke up. I thought they had taken your body away."  
"Aisha and Suzuka took me here, and Melfina went out to collect our reward money."  
"Also," Jim said quietly, "Right about now...approximately...is...it's the anniversary of when my parents..."  
He was sobbing again and couldn't complete the sentence, but he didn't need to. Gene's arm was around him comfortingly.  
"I'm alive, Jim. I'm right here. I didn't leave you," he murmured soothingly.  
He let Jim cry for a long time. Finally, Jim lifted his head and ran his eyes over his friend's battered body. His right arm was bandaged from his shoulder to his wrist, his rib cage was taped up, and his leg was heavily bandaged with gauze and splinted.  
"What did the doctor say about your injuries? What did they do?"  
"Well, I've got a ton of stitches, and I tore some ligaments in my ankle and broke some bones in my foot, but besides that and some cracked ribs and bruises I'm fine. They cleaned the cuts and abrasions in my arm and leg really well to prevent infection, so I'm set to go."  
"That's great, Gene. You'll be out of here this afternoon?"  
"Yep. They're just making sure nothing bad shows up. I feel great."  
The pair shared a smile.  
"Gene, I'm sorry I was so paranoid yesterday when we were heading back towards the ship. It's just with the anniversary and all...and seeing you getting injured..."  
"I understand perfectly, Jim. You're all right now?"  
"Yeah. It was scary, though. I remember waking up after the explosion. I felt really sick and I threw up. Then I saw you laying down. I crawled over to you, and I passed out before I could tell if you were alive or not."  
"That's awful. I'm sorry I worried you."  
"You know, Gene, you were really mature when we were returning to the ship. You could have yelled at me, I bet you wanted to, but you didn't. Your perserverance was a lot more productive than my criticism."  
Gene just smiled at his friend.  
"You're tired. I should let you sleep," Jim realized.  
"You're pretty pale yourself. Besides, I don't know how much longer the doctor will let you stay here. They're strict."  
"I'll see you this afternoon then?"  
"Sure thing."  
  
  
The next morning, all crew members were on the ship again. It was time to restock and leave.  
"Gene, Jim's still sleeping. Should I wake him?" Melfina asked at breakfast.  
"Nah," the redhead replied. "Let him rest. After all, he's still only eleven."   



End file.
